Video Games: Live Streaming

Video Games. This is not the first thought that normally comes to mind when talking about a marketing class for a MBA program. Marketing products have many sides, the price, functionality, convenience, life-cycle. The same goes for marketing a video game, showing demos of game-play, focusing on certain market segments, deciding how much one should charge. Though on the other side of this industry is the consumers and within this market is a group of individuals who are trying to make a living by playing the games they love.

In this case the streamers themselves are the product that needs to be advertised. Their market segment is other gamers. The goal is to get as many followers/viewers as one can. There are many ways to make a profit by playing video games. One of the big ones is ‘Live’ streaming, thanks to better technology people are now able to get programs on their computers that will allow you to stream in real time (Live) a game you are currently playing. The three main platforms today are YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook. All three are great platforms and allow the gamers to stream their game play for free or, once you have enough followers, for a profit.

In the game streaming world there are many ways to make a profit. One way is to get fan donations or supporters. On both Twitch and Facebook, the viewers are able to become supporters where they are paying about $5 a month to as the name suggests support the individual. This is a nice way for the fans to show the streamers support and the streamers in return show they care about them. They can do this by supporter only videos or posts. Some even send out gifts. For example, Tradechat sends out cute stickers.

If we take the top streamers they have anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 followers. If only 0.5% of that becomes supporters, they could be making $2,500 to $7,500 a month. Which is about $15.62 to $46.87 an hour to just play video games live and with the federal minimum wage sitting at $7.50 this is a great idea for those who love playing video games all the time. One Twitch Streamer Disguised Toast revealed how much he actually makes each month. He is constantly within the top 10 streamers on Twitch and from all revenue platforms combined he makes roughly $20,000 a month.

Of course, with every success story there are many more stories of people who did not make it. When considering if you want to go into this field you have to consider the idea that you will get bored, your games will no longer be fun, and there is no guaranteed paycheck.

To be successful one thing is clear. You must be entertaining to watch and get your name out there. A lot of your fame will be through shares and word of mouth from other viewers. One would need to have a marketing strategy for getting more viewers.

To start in this business, one needs to have games people want to watch, a decent system either computer or console, a streaming program, and be ready to stream on a reliable consistent basis. Being a professional streamer can be a tough career path to take. You have to make yourself different from all the others. So how does marketing work when you are the product?

First you must have a love for the games and be pretty good at playing them. No one wants to watch an amateur. Though it is entertaining to see a rage quit, you really do not want that to be what you are known for.

Once you have the basics down, this is when your strategy starts. You can get other fellow streamers to watch your channel by watching their channels and supporting others. Have all of your relatives and friends share your streams and have them to ask people they know to do the same.

Once you have a big enough fan base it will become easier and easier for your streams to go viral. Also doing advertising for other companies can help. For example, you can get paid by companies to open mystery boxes or loot boxes on camera. The company will pay you and advertise you to their customers. You can also post to gaming forums about your streams.

Lastly, yes other streamers may be your competition, but gamers are a community and other streamers are your community. Help them and they will help you!